Cam chain replacement

[3Phase]

Be careful, James, that's how simple plans always start out and the next thing you know you're deep in foreign territory and your hovercraft is full of eels.

[ruffrider]

Cam chain tensioner

How often should you adjust cam chain tensioner? My XS1100sf has 16k on it. I don't hear any valve noise or chain sloppiness.

[James England]

Be careful, James, that's how simple plans always start out and the next thing you know you're deep in foreign territory and your hovercraft is full of eels.

Yes, mission creep, I think they call it in the military. And, as I bet you know, you gotta stay sharp and not get too cocky. "This is easy" you say to yourself. That's the point when you drop the master link down the cam chain tunnel, or hit the rivet with a punch, slip and take a piece of the camcover gasket face etc etc.

[cywelchjr]

How often should you adjust cam chain tensioner? My XS1100sf has 16k on it. I don't hear any valve noise or chain sloppiness.

Supposed to be 1k miles IIRC according to the manual. I try to do mine at least once in the middle between oil changes and then at each oil change, unlike some, I do my oil changes at right about 3k per the manual, and my oil is still nice and slippery and not overly black (nice chocolate brown, clearly carrying away the dirty stuff, but still lubricating and protecting).

Here is MY opinion on the oil change intervals. The oil change intervals were determined based on the abilities of the oils available at the time to absorb contaminants and resist thermal breakdown and continue to protect the engine from direct metal to metal wear by continuing to provide a thin film of oil between moving parts. Intervals were designed to guarantee that the oil would still be able to do this job at the end of it's service life, but not be guaranteed to do so beyond this timeframe. Now, oil quality has improved greatly in 30 years, and oils are FAR more stable. So while 30 years ago, I would have been likely to change the oil at no greater than 2500 and more likely 2000 miles, I have no problem stretching it to the full 3000 in the manual, and I have NO worries that the oil is going to fail me or cause any undue wear. If I were to go to a good quality synthetic (that didn't make the clutch slip) I would probably at LEAST increase that by 1/2 of not double it.

Remember, this is my OPINION, mine and only mine, and how I treat MY bike and MY cars. BTW, my Camaro which has 190,000 miles on the engine and uses almost no oil, is only not running because of injector problems caused by sitting because the ignition switch went out and I had too many other irons in the fire to deal with it at the time, 190,000 miles with the oil never changed before 7500 miles, and usually a bit beyond that, but watched carefully and well taken care of, and when looking inside with a boroscope, there is no sludge, high quality oils used at ALL times, never cheap stuff on sale (not to say I won't buy the good stuff for the best price I can get, but I'm not putting paraffin based stuff in my engines), good quality Dino oil for it's entire life (my Malibu gets Mobile 1, only one I've ever actually used synthetic oil in so far).

[James England]

I've changed the oil every 2,000 miles on every bike I've ever had. Oil's cheap compared to any engine spare part you can think of and garage bills if you're paying someone to fix your bike, or expense and time if you do it yourself.

I use Castrol old-fashioned 100% mineral oil (Castrol Classic) in my XS1100. I like to think that I'm using an oil which was compatible with, and developed alongside, oil seals of that era, low on detergent and additives etc. I've never tried synthetic or semi-synthetic and I get the impression from here that it may cause the clutch to slip? Also, isn;t it full of detergents and scrubbing agents that old-tech engines may not like?

[crazy steve]

...I use Castrol old-fashioned 100% mineral oil (Castrol Classic) in my XS1100. I like to think that I'm using an oil which was compatible with, and developed alongside, oil seals of that era, low on detergent and additives etc. I've never tried synthetic or semi-synthetic and I get the impression from here that it may cause the clutch to slip? Also, isn't it full of detergents and scrubbing agents that old-tech engines may not like?

By and large, oil is oil (I'll exclude paraffin-based oils, which I've never been impressed with). Some additives that are used may not be compatible with the wet clutches in these bikes (the oils marked with the 'fuel saving' logo), and in some cases some no longer used additives can be missed to a degree (notably the zinc that is now gone from most oil).

But generally, most of the improved additives are just that; improved, and a good thing for even older motors. I'm always in favor of better detergents in the oil, as keeping the inside of the motor clean helps with heat build-up. The main thing I think you really need to watch is the viscosity of the oil you use. All manufacturers give a recommended viscosity for a given temp range, and the various internal clearances were designed with that in mind. Go too far 'outside the box' and that's when problems pop up. To me, for 'normal' driving synthetic is overkill unless you plan to go to extended oil change intervals. Without a doubt most synthetics are 'better' than conventional oil, but as Cy pointed out, that superiority really only shows up if you run conventional past it's life.

I'll throw one thought out there about replacing the timing chain as a 'preventive' measure; these are supposed to be replaced as a 'set' (sprockets and chain), replacing just the chain will accelerate wear on the sprockets as they will have to 'wear in' to the new chain. How much wear this would cause and whether it's harmful I can't say, but it's something to think about...

[James England]

I'll throw one thought out there about replacing the timing chain as a 'preventive' measure; these are supposed to be replaced as a 'set' (sprockets and chain), replacing just the chain will accelerate wear on the sprockets as they will have to 'wear in' to the new chain. How much wear this would cause and whether it's harmful I can't say, but it's something to think about...

I reckon I may just leave off doing the camchain. I might end up killing the engine with kindness. I mean, it doesn't actually need doing.

[jetmechmarty]

I might end up killing the engine with kindness.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Is it even possible to buy a new timing set? It seems that would be the thing you wouldn't want to skip when doing an overhaul.

[James England]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

You're right. The chain is quiet and has lots of adjustment left in it. I'll leave it and just ride the bike instead

[3Phase]

You're right. The chain is quiet and has lots of adjustment left in it. I'll leave it and just ride the bike instead

Good idea.

Camshaft gears are no longer available from Yamaha so you would have to look around for new/old stock or call ACME.

If you want something to do this winter thats easy to do over a hot cuppa and should immediately improve the performance of the engine, remove the left engine cover then remove, clean and lightly lubricate: the ring bearing that holds the pickup coil plate; the vacuum advance pot; the centrifugal advance weights, springs and the reluctor.

[James England]

Good idea.

Camshaft gears are no longer available from Yamaha so you would have to look around for new/old stock or call ACME.

If you want something to do this winter thats easy to do over a hot cuppa and should immediately improve the performance of the engine, remove the left engine cover then remove, clean and lightly lubricate: the ring bearing that holds the pickup coil plate; the vacuum advance pot; the centrifugal advance weights, springs and the reluctor.

Already done it! And, as you no doubt know already, it needed doing, especially the bob weights at the back. I think in the winter, I'll check the valve clearances, although they sound fine. Probably a tyre change. Failing that, I'll sit in the shed with cup of tea and just look at the bike.